Officials in Ann Arbor want 100 deer shot and up to 60 others sterilized to help reduce their numbers in city parks and nature areas.
The numbers are part of a deer management strategy sent Friday to the Ann Arbor City Council, The Ann Arbor News reported Saturday.
The plan seeks council approval by Nov. 14. The deer cull and sterilizations would start Jan. 1.
The city wants to reduce the number of negative interactions between deer and people. Some residents also have complained of damage by deer to gardens and landscaping.
Sharpshooters killed 63 deer in a cull earlier this year that was opposed by some residents and animal rights activists.
"Full consensus on a plan is unlikely and should not be expected," Ann Arbor City Administrator Howard Lazarus wrote to the council. "However, increased awareness and acceptance of the plan is desired."
Lazarus added that the plan is meant to be inclusive and transparent in hope that the community supports it.
"Inclusiveness is being sought by actively engaging with self-organized citizen groups, both for and against last year's program, as well as reaching out to the Humane Society of Huron Valley to request its participation," Lazarus wrote.
White Buffalo Inc., a nonprofit that has conducted deer fertility control research in other communities, has said in a proposal sought by the city that it would cost an estimated $55,720 to shoot 100 deer. The cost to capture and sterilized 40 to 60 deer is estimated at just over $77,000, but that amount does not include a site visit or planning and permit costs.
The Ann Arbor City Council already has included $145,000 in the 2016-17 budget for deer management.
